When a Texan gambles

A fifth-generation Texan who taught family living, Jodi Thomas chooses to set the majority of her novels in her home state, where her grandmother was born in a covered wagon. With a degree in Family Studies, Thomas is a marriage and family counselor by education, a background that enables her to write about family dynamics. Honored in 2002 as a Distinguished Alumni by Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Thomas enjoys interacting with students on the West Texas A & M University campus, where she currently serves as Writer In Residence. When not working on a novel or inspiring students to pursue a writing career, Thomas enjoys traveling with her husband and renovating an historical home they bought in Amarillo. TEXAS RAIN, the first book in her latest historical "Whispering Mountain" series, was released in November 2006. TEXAS PRINCESS, the next novel in the series was published in November 2007. An anthology of short stories, GIVE ME A TEXAN, will be available in February 2008. Her newest mainstream novel, TWISTED CREEK, is garnering rave pre-release reviews and is set for release in April 2008.